Readers may have given the ZDNet Great Debate to the 'yawn' vote, but the fact that Office for iPad apps are flying off the shelves suggests that Microsoft has indeed captured the imaginations of increasingly mobile users. Whether it can keep them, is the big question.

It took four years, but Microsoft has finally released full-featured Office apps for the iPad. As expected, the new Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps are free to install but require an Office 365 subscription to unlock the full set of features. Here's what you can expect.

Don't hold your breath waiting for Microsoft's Office apps to arrive for iOS. Virtualization is your best bet and a new service offers full Word, Excel and PowerPoint on your iPad without installing an app.

Apple has released versions of its iWork productivity apps that work on the iPhone and iPod Touch, after already revamping the suite for the iPad last year.The Keynote, Pages and Numbers apps each cost £5.